The Special One

His name was, Riccardo. He sat in front of me at the Kate Bush concert. I know his name because he seemed intent on introducing himself to both the women sitting on either side of him. He was American, he was gregarious. 

After he had sat down and spoken to the women next to him for about 10 minutes I now knew that this was his second night at the concert & he was, the following day, travelling to Italy to spend time with someone he met on his holidays who had invited him to his Italian farm if he should ever find himself in Italy.

First clue, Riccardo. When people say to you, 'Oh, whenever you are next over in a country 4000 miles away from your home, you must come to mine and we shall spent some time together'. THIS IS NOT TRUE. it means the opposite. Translated, it actually means. 'If you ever somehow find your way across 4000 miles of world, away from your home. Never, ever darken my door. I am saying this just to be polite knowing that 4000 miles is quite a substantial distance and hopefully you will never figure out a way to transverse this distance to my door.'

Riccardo, it turned out was what I would call a 'head swayer', within 5 minutes he had begun head swaying, gently, and if the ladies faces where to be believed had caused a little bit of exasperation as when on either side of him, their heads were thoroughly and in true middle class, British fashion, fully erect and immobile. In this situation you have, out of the corner of your eye, an Americans grey haired head swinging in and out of your peripheral vision. It was enough to make you seasick.

However, from behind him I was overly bothered by head swaying. It was when he started, during Kate Bush's rendition of, 'Top of the City', when, quietly swaying gently to and fro he suddenly, and without warning, started playing 'Air Drums'. Much to the surprise of the ladies I can assure you, one of whom gave him a remarkably dirty look, that only a middle class, daily mail reading proto Mary Whitehouse could give a man...he was stone dead in her eyes.

To me throwing out the 'air drums' in private is more than acceptable. Amongst perfect strangers, a little odd. Though he improved on his oddness. When the screens came down from the top of the stage to the floor I can only say that, Riccardo launched his hands high in a prayer movement and then as the screen/curtain descended he brought his hands down simultaneously, while doing 'Jazz Hands'. It was quite a stunning effect...As he used his magic Jazz hands to bring down the curtains. He did this three times. Oddly during the intermission, one of the ladies changed places with her daughter...

Riccardo. I shall never meet you, but you sir, were hilarious. Oddly hilarious.